Thoughts on culture and events by author and illustrator Christopher R Taylor

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

SILENCING DEBATE

"Shut up," he argued.

Former president Bill Clinton gave a speech at his 7th annual Clinton Global Initiative conference. In that speech he called the lack of debate on global climate change "really tragic." Bill Clinton also said this:

If you’re an American, the best thing you can do is to make it politically unacceptable for people to engage in denial.

I mean, it makes us – we look like a joke, right? You can’t win the nomination of one of the major parties in the country if you admit that the scientists are right? That disqualifies you from doing it?

Now putting aside the non sequitur and begging the question fallacies here, look at what Clinton just said.

He said that people who question his scientific position are wrong and shouldn't be allowed to win office... then he said its tragic we don't have debate on the topic. Maybe there's no debate because guys like you refuse to even consider the possibility of debate to begin with, Bill.

If what he means be debate is to what degree we should freak out over alarmist predictions, that's not a debate at all.